Sale of footwear by subscription

ABSTRACT

A user enters into a subscription to receive footwear having one or more specified performance characteristics. As the user finishes wearing one set of footwear, the user can obtain a replacement set of footwear that also will have one or more specified performance characteristics. The performance characteristics may be consistent for each set of footwear provided according to the subscription. Alternately, the footwear performance characteristics may vary over the life of the subscription. Thus, the footwear provider may periodically obtain biometric information describing the user&#39;s athletic activities or performance. The footwear provider then can tailor the performance characteristics of footwear provided under the subscription to match the user&#39;s athletic activities or performance.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/012,086 filed Dec. 13, 2004, entitled “Sale of Footwear bySubscription,” which is incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the distribution or purveyance offootwear. Various aspects of the present invention are particularlyapplicable to distributing or purveying footwear to users on asubscription basis.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Athletic footwear has become a multi-billion dollar industry. Footwearmanufacturers now offer a wide variety of footwear with differentshapes, ornamentation, and performance characteristics. While this widerange of choices is beneficial to a number of consumers, it can beinconvenient to running enthusiasts or other dedicated athletes. Evenmany amateur dedicated athletes, for example, often will require thathis or her footwear have a particular set of performancecharacteristics. Thus, a dedicated runner may prefer footwear with aparticular degree of cushioning, a particular amount of lateralstability, and with a particular width in the toe box of the footwear.

A large selection of athletic footwear offered by a manufacturertypically will contain a footwear model with an athlete's desiredperformance characteristics. The athlete may have difficulty, however,in identifying the particular model of footwear with those desiredperformance characteristics from among the large selection of availablefootwear. Moreover, even if the athlete can identify a footwear modelhaving the desired performance characteristics, there is no guaranteethat subsequent versions of that footwear model will share thoseperformance characteristics. Footwear manufacturers often vary both theoutward appearance of a footwear model and the performancecharacteristics of the footwear model on a seasonal basis. Accordingly,consistently obtaining footwear having desired performancecharacteristics often is a tedious irritation for dedicated athletes.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Advantageously, various implementations of the invention providetechniques whereby a user can consistently obtain footwear with theperformance characteristics desired for the user. With these techniques,a user enters into a subscription to receive footwear having desiredperformance characteristics. One or more of these performancecharacteristics may be specified in advance of the subscription.Alternately or additionally, one or more of these performancecharacteristics may be modified over the duration of the subscription.In some instances, one or more of the performance characteristics may beselected by the user. Alternately or additionally, one or more of theperformance characteristics may be selected by another person, such as acoach or footwear consultant. Moreover, one or more of the performancecharacteristics may be specified based upon measurements of the user'sathletic performance, measurements of the user's foot activity whenperforming an athletic activity, or both.

When the user has concluded using one set of footwear with the specifiedperformance characteristics, the user can order a replacement set offootwear according to the subscription. The replacement footwear thenwill have either the original or, in same instances, new specifiedperformance characteristics. A variety of payment techniques can be usedwith various implementations of the subscription. For example, a usermay make a single payment on the subscription, and in returnperiodically receive footwear having specified performancecharacteristics. In implantations, the payment for the subscription mayvary based upon the user's use of the footwear. For example, if the usertravels a preset distance with the footwear or participates inauthorized athletic activities, the user may received a discount for thecost of the subscription.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a system for purveying footwear to a user according tovarious embodiments of the invention.

FIGS. 2A-2C show a flowchart illustrating a method of purveying footwearto a user according to various embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 3 shows another system for purveying footwear to a user accordingto still other embodiments of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Overview

Various embodiments of the invention allow a user to conveniently andregularly obtain footwear having performance characteristics desired forthe user. With different embodiments of the invention, a user entersinto a subscription to receive footwear having one or more specifiedperformance characteristics. As the user finishes wearing one set offootwear, the user can obtain a replacement set of footwear that alsowill have one or more specified performance characteristics. For someembodiments of the invention, the performance characteristics may beconsistent for each set of footwear provided according to thesubscription. With still other embodiments of the invention, thefootwear performance characteristics may vary over the life of thesubscription. For example, the footwear provider may periodically obtainbiometric information describing the user's athletic activities orperformance. The footwear provider then can tailor the performancecharacteristics of footwear provided under the subscription to match theuser's athletic activities or performance.

A variety of different payment methods can be employed according todifferent embodiments of the invention. For example, with someembodiments of the invention, a user may prepay an entire amount for asubscription. Alternately, the user may pay a portion of thesubscription amount in advance, and then pay a fixed or adjustableamount during the life of the subscription. With still otherembodiments, a user may forego an advance payment, and only pay duringthe life of the subscription. For payments made during the life of thesubscription, the payments may be made on a scheduled basis, inassociation with the user obtaining a new set of footwear, or somecombination of both.

Still other embodiments of the invention may provide the user with apartial or complete discount for participating in or performing anotheractivity. For example, a user may receive a footwear subscription whilethe user is a member of an athletic club, a sports team, or employed bya company or other organization. Alternately or additionally, a user mayreceive a partial or complete discount on a footwear subscription fortraveling a preset distance over the life of the footwear, using thefootwear to participate in a specific athletic competition or events(such as a footrace or golf tournament), or using the footwear toparticipate in a preset number of athletic competitions or events.

Moreover, the amount of the discount may depend upon the amount of usefor provided footwear. For example, if a user travels a first distancein provided footwear, the user may receive a first discount (e.g., a 10%discount) on the cost of replacement footwear under the subscription.If, however, the user travels a second, longer distance in providedfootwear, then the user may receive a second, larger discount (e.g., a15% discount) on replacement footwear. Similarly, a user may receive adiscount under the subscription for participating in more (or moresignificant or challenging) athletic competitions or events.

According to different embodiments of the invention, a user may obtain anew set of footwear under the subscription according to a variety oftechniques. With some embodiments of the invention, for example, theuser may obtain a new set of footwear by returning a previously obtainedset of footwear. Some of these embodiments of the invention mayadditionally require a user to generate a preset amount of wear for aset of footwear before receiving a new set of footwear. With still otherembodiments, however, a user may automatically obtain a new set offootwear according to a previously-determined schedule.

Footwear Purveying System

FIG. 1 shows a system for purveying footwear to a user according tovarious embodiments of the invention. As seen in this figure, a user 101interacts with the subscription system, which includes a subscriptioncenter 103 and a footwear source 105. The system may optionally includea performance characteristics database 107, in communication with thesubscription center 103. The operation of this system will be describedwith reference to FIGS. 2A-2C.

A subscription process begins when a user 101 submits a subscriptionrequest 109 to the subscription center 103. The subscription center 103may be a physical location, such as a footwear retail store or footwearmanufacturing facility located in a building available to the public.Alternately, the subscription center 103 may be a virtual location, suchas a configuration of one or more markup language pages (e.g., HTMLpages) provided on one or more server computers in a computer network(sometimes referred to as a “Web site”).

The subscription request 109, or information associated with thesubscription request 109, will typically include identification anddelivery information for the user 101. For example, the subscriptionrequest 109 may include the name and residence of a user 101. Withvarious embodiments of the invention, the subscription request 109 willalso include (or be otherwise associated with) subscription paymentinformation. According to various different embodiments of theinvention, the subscription payment may be in any suitable form. Forexample, the initial subscription payment may be by cash, credit, debitto an existing bank account, wire transfer, or through the use of avirtual or electronic money payment service, such as the PAYPAL paymentservice available from eBay, Inc., in San Jose, Calif. Accordingly, thesubscription request 109 may additionally include, for example, billinginformation indicating how the user 101 should be billed for thepayment, information necessary to effect the payment, the user's billingaddress and similar .

Still further, the subscription request 109 will include or otherwise beassociated with one more specified performance characteristics forfootwear. Thus, a subscription request 109 will correspond withspecified footwear performance characteristics. These characteristicsmay be any desired characteristics that relate to the performance of thefootwear in allowing the user 101 to walk, run, or perform some otherphysical activity. Conventional performance characteristics for footwearmay specify any combination of parameters including, for example,traction, flexibility, stability, cushioning, and fit. Moreover, thesubscription request 109 may specify a single value for one or moreperformance characteristics, or a range of values for one or moreperformance characteristics. Thus, the performance characteristics maydefine a specific cushioning value or range of values, a specificstability value or range of values, a specific size value (such as awidth or length) or range of values, or a specific flexibility value orrange of values. Moreover, the performance characteristics may defineone or more of these a values for a particular portion of the footwear(e.g., a specific width for the toe box of the footwear). As will beappreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art, the performancecharacteristics of a set of footwear will be distinguishable from thecosmetic or ornamental characteristics of the footwear.

With some embodiments of the invention, the subscription request 109will expressly specify the footwear performance characteristics. Withother embodiments of the invention, however, the subscription request109 may inherently specify the footwear performance characteristics. Forexample, rather than specifying a particular width and cushioning value,the subscription request 109 may instead specify a particular footwearmodel desired by the user 101. With these embodiments, the subscriptioncenter 103 will be able to identify the performance characteristicsassociated with the specified footwear model. For example, thesubscription center 103 may have access to the records of the footwearmanufacturer that manufactured the specified footwear model.

Still further, with various embodiments of the invention, thesubscription center 103 may select a particular model of footwearpossessing performance characteristics performance characteristicsdesired by the user based upon information provided by or otherwiseobtained from the user. For example, the user may provide a history orother record of his or her athletic performance or activities. Also,various aspects of the user's performance or activities may be measuredfor the subscription center 103. Based upon this information, thesubscription center 103 may determine one or more appropriateperformance characteristics for the footwear requested in subscriptionrequest 109.

In step 203, the subscription center 103 receives in the subscriptionrequest 109 from the user 101. In response, the subscription center 103saves the specified footwear performance characteristics for future use.More particularly, the subscription center 103 records the specifiedperformance characteristics in such a way that they are associated withthe subscription request 109, the user 101, or both. With variousembodiments of the invention, the performance characteristics may bestored in a performance characteristics database 107. The databaserecord for the performance characteristics may then also include anidentifier identifying the subscription request 109, an identifieridentifying the user 101, or both.

Next, in step 205, the subscription center 103 submits an order 111 forfootwear with the specified performance characteristics to the footwearsource 105. According to different embodiments of the invention, theorder 111 may relay the specified performance characteristics in avariety of forms. For example, if the original subscription request 109specified a particular model of footwear, then the order 111 maylikewise simply specify that model of footwear. Alternately, if theoriginal subscription request 109 expressly listed the specifiedperformance characteristics, then the order 111 may simply relay thosespecified characteristics. If the subscription request 109 included ahistory of the user's athletic performance or activities, ormeasurements of aspects of the user's athletic performance oractivities, this information also simply may be relayed to the footwearsource 105. With these embodiments, the footwear source 105 may thenchoose a particular model of footwear possessing the specifiedperformance characteristics based upon the information provided in theorder 111.

With various embodiments of the invention, the order 111 also willinclude the shipping information for the user 101 provided in theoriginal subscription request 109. In response to receiving the order111, in step 209 the footwear source 105 ships the specified footwear113 (or footwear with the specified performance characteristics) to theuser 101. In step 211, the user 101 receives the footwear 113 from thefootwear source 105. Upon receiving the footwear 113, the user 101 canemploy the footwear 113 as desired. When the footwear 113 finally wearsout or is otherwise no longer suitable for its desired purpose, the user101 submits a replacement request 115 for replacement footwear to thesubscription center 103 in step 215. Advantageously, the replacementrequest 115 allows the user 101 to ensure that the replacement footwearalso possesses the specified performance characteristics.

For example, with some embodiments of the invention, the replacementrequest 115 may be automatically generated (using, e.g., a computer toolor software application provided by the subscription center 103) toinclude the specified performance characteristics submitted in theoriginal subscription request 109. Alternately or additionally, thereplacement request 115 may simply reference the identity of the user101, an identifier corresponding to the original subscription request109, or both. Using this identification information, the subscriptioncenter 103 can then identify the specified performance characteristicscorresponding to the original subscription request 109 (or to the user101).

With some embodiments of the invention, the subscription center 103 mayrequire some evidence that the previously provided set of footwear hasbecome worn out or is no longer usable. For example, the subscriptioncenter 103 may require that the user 101 include the previously providedset of footwear with the replacement request 115. Alternately, thesubscription center 103 may require that the user 101 include a portionof the previously provided set of footwear (e.g., the tongues of from ofthe footwear) with the replacement request 115.

With some embodiments of the invention, the previous provided set offootwear (and, of course, footwear subsequently obtained through thesubscription) itself may provide an indication that the footwear shouldbe replaced. For example, with some embodiments of the invention, thefootwear may include an electronic light or other indicator. Thisindicator then may be directly or indirectly connected to an instrumentfor measuring the amount of use for the footwear, such as a pedometer, aglobal positioning device, a local positioning device, an accelerometer,or pressure switch. After the instrument has recorded a preset amount ofuse of the footwear, the instrument may then activate the indicator,thereby alerting the user to replace the footwear with new footwearunder the subscription.

For example, some embodiments of the invention may employ a pedometer tomeasure the distance traveled by footwear. When the user has employedthe footwear to travel, e.g., 500 miles, the pedometer may cause theindicator to light, or to change colors (e.g., from green to yellow). Asthe user continues to travel with the footwear beyond a distance of 500miles, the pedometer may cause the indicator light to change again. Forexample, the pedometer may cause the indicator light to begin flashing,or to change colors yet again (e.g., from yellow to red), therebyindicating that the footwear should be replaced. Of course, any mannerof visual, sonic or tactile indication may be employed to indicate wearaccording to different embodiments of the invention.

It should be noted that, with some embodiments of the inventionemploying an instrument for measuring an amount of use for the footwear,the footwear also may employ fraud countermeasures to prevent a userfrom activating the indicator before the footwear has been used aminimum amount. For example, some embodiments of the invention mayprevent a pedometer from registering more than a threshold distancewithin a preset period of time. Of course, various embodiments of theinvention may alternately or additionally employ indicators that do notemploy actively measuring instruments. For example, footwear accordingto various embodiments of the invention may have soles formed ofmulticolored layers of material. If the user had worn through a layer ofmaterial having one color to another layer of material having anothercolor, this color change may server as an indicator that the footwear isdue for replacement.

In step 217, the subscription center 103 receives the replacementrequest 115. Then, in step 219, the subscription center 103 submits anorder 117 for replacement footwear to the footwear source 105. Inresponse to receiving the order 117 for replacement footwear in step219, the footwear source 105 provides another set of footwear 119 havingthe desired performance characteristics to the user 101. In this manner,the user 101 obtains another set of footwear having the performancecharacteristics desired by the user 101.

The process of submitting a replacement request 115 and obtaining inreturn a replacement set of footwear 119 can be repeated as often asdesired according to various embodiments of the invention. For example,with some embodiments of the invention, a user 101 may pay a fixedinitial subscription fee, and subsequently obtained replacement footwearfor life. With still other embodiments of the invention, a user may paya fixed initial subscription fee, and subsequently obtained only apreset number of sets of replacement footwear. With still otherembodiments of the invention, a user may pay an initial subscription feeand periodically obtain replacement footwear, but only at predeterminedintervals (such as, for example, every six months).

FIG. 3 illustrates yet another system for purveying footwear to a useraccording to various embodiments of the invention. With this system, theuser initially sends the subscription request 109A to the footwearsource 105, rather than to the subscription center 103. The footwearsource 105 then relays a corresponding subscription request 109B to thesubscription center 103. In response, the subscription center 103 sendsthe footwear source 105 an order 111 to supply the requested footwearhaving the specified performance characteristics. Next, the footwearsource 105 provides the footwear 113 to the user 101. When the userseeks a replacement for the footwear, the user may submit a replacementrequest 115A to the subscription center 103. If the subscription center103 approves the replacement request 115A, it forwards an order 117 tothe footwear source 105, instructing the footwear source to provide thespecified footwear 119 to the user 101.

While the invention has been described with respect to specific examplesincluding presently preferred modes of carrying out the invention, thoseskilled in the art will appreciate that there are numerous variationsand permutations of the above described systems and techniques that fallwithin the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in theappended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: programming an instrument tomeasure an amount of footwear use; providing, via web server, aninterface configured to process footwear subscription requests;processing a footwear subscription request received at the interface toestablish a footwear subscription wherein the footwear subscriptionrequest indicates one or more specified footwear performancecharacteristics and wherein the footwear subscription indicates arequired amount of use that must occur before receiving replacementfootwear; configuring footwear comprising the one or more specifiedfootwear performance characteristics and comprising an indicator used toalert a user of the footwear that the instrument, directly or indirectlyconnected to the indicator, has measured the required amount of use ofthe footwear subscription, the indicator comprising an electronic lightthat is activated in response to measurement of the required amount ofuse by the instrument; determining, based on activation of theindicator, that the instrument has measured the required amount of use;and providing, in response to notification that the instrument hasmeasured the required amount of use, replacement footwear comprising atleast one of the one or more specified footwear performancecharacteristics.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein the one or morespecified footwear performance characteristics include at least one of afootwear traction characteristic, a footwear flexibility characteristic,a footwear stability characteristic, a footwear cushioningcharacteristic, a footwear size characteristic, or combinations thereof.3. The method of claim 1 wherein the instrument comprises at least oneof a Global Positioning System (GPS) device, a local positioning device,a pedometer, an accelerometer, or a pressure switch.
 4. The method ofclaim 1 wherein the instrument is configured to measure no more than athreshold amount of use within a predetermined time period.
 5. A methodcomprising: programming an instrument to measure an amount of footwearuse; providing, via a web server, an interface configured to processfootwear subscription requests and footwear replacement requests;processing a footwear subscription request received at the interface toestablish a footwear subscription wherein the footwear subscriptionrequest indicates one or more specified footwear performancecharacteristics and wherein the footwear subscription indicates arequired amount of use that must occur before receiving replacementfootwear; configuring footwear comprising the one or more specifiedfootwear performance characteristics and comprising an indicator used toalert a user of the footwear that the instrument, directly or indirectlyconnected to the indicator, has measured the required amount of use ofthe footwear subscription, the indicator comprising an electronic lightthat is activated in response to measurement of the required amount ofuse by the instrument; processing a footwear replacement requestreceived at the interface that identifies one or more new footwearperformance characteristics; determining, based on activation of theindicator, that the instrument has measured the required amount of use;and providing, in response to notification that the instrument hasmeasured the required amount of use, replacement footwear comprising theone or more new footwear performance characteristics.
 6. The method ofclaim 5 wherein footwear performance characteristics include at leastone of a footwear traction characteristic, a footwear flexibilitycharacteristic, a footwear stability characteristic, a footwearcushioning characteristic, a footwear size characteristic, orcombinations thereof.
 7. The method of claim 5 wherein the instrumentcomprises at least one of a Global Positioning System (GPS) device, alocal positioning device, a pedometer, an accelerometer, or a pressureswitch.
 8. The method of claim 5 wherein the instrument is configured tomeasure no more than a threshold amount of use within a predeterminedtime period.
 9. A system comprising: a web server configured to providean interface configured to process footwear subscription requests andfootwear replacement requests; a database configured to store firstrecords corresponding to footwear subscriptions and, for each one of thefirst records, a second record identifying a set of one or more footwearperformance characteristics; and a computing device configured to:process a footwear subscription request received at the interface toestablish a footwear subscription wherein the footwear subscriptionindicates a required amount of use that must occur before receivingreplacement footwear, initiate provisioning, to an individual associatedwith the footwear subscription, of footwear comprising one or morespecified footwear performance characteristics and comprising anindicator used to alert a user of the footwear that an instrument,directly or indirectly connected to the indicator, has measured therequired amount of use of the footwear subscription, the indicatorcomprising an electronic light that is activated in response tomeasurement of the required amount of use by the instrument, process afootwear replacement request received at the interface that identifiesthe footwear subscription and one or more new footwear performancecharacteristics, determine, based on activation of the indicator, thatthe instrument has measured the required amount of use, and initiate, inresponse to notification that the instrument has measured the requiredamount of use, provisioning, to the individual, of replacement footwearcomprising the one or more new performance characteristics.
 10. Thesystem of claim 9 wherein footwear performance characteristics includeat least one of a footwear traction characteristic, a footwearflexibility characteristic, a footwear stability characteristic, afootwear cushioning characteristic, a footwear size characteristic, orcombinations thereof.
 11. The system of claim 9 wherein the instrumentcomprises at least one of a Global Positioning System (GPS) device, alocal positioning device, a pedometer, an accelerometer, or a pressureswitch.
 12. The system of claim 9 wherein the instrument is configuredto measure no more than a threshold amount of use within a predeterminedtime period.